Luxury baseball

I had once been to all 30 major league ballparks, but then they kept on building new ones.  I've gradually checked those off the list and this week was at 27 of the current parks, with Target Field, Busch Stadium, and Marlins Stadium left to go.

Yesterday, I went to my first game at Target Field in Minneapolis to see the Twins and Royals and to have the most luxurious experience it's reasonable to have at a baseball game.  We were in the Champions Club, a handful of rows of seats just behind home plate with comfortable padded seats, exclusive wait staff, and access to the club beneath the stadium with a fine dining buffet and ballpark fare.

Normally, I walk up to a ballpark from some transit stop or parking lot a ways away, but for Champions Club, you drive right up to the back door of the stadium where the valet greets you feet from the door.  All in all, the approach is a decent experience, even though you miss the awe of walking up and checking out the exterior of the ballpark.  There's plenty to check out in Champions Club.  Here's the entrance:

I got a wristband, identifying me as a person of greater value than normal people who have to use the front door.  Then to the buffet.

At ballparks I like to see what concessions they have as part of the overall experience.  Good regional and unique concessions are a plus for a ballpark, like the Turkey Legs in Houston and the Crab Cakes in Baltimore.  Minnesota has some of that, but I didn't care, because they had a chef making fresh Caesar Salad and plating it in a massive wheel of Parmesan cheese.

I don't care for Caesar Salad, but I was impressed anyway.  Also by the meat.

The Bananas Foster didn't suck either, though I didn't take a picture. Instead I took three helpings.

I sat in the fifth row behind home plate.

Balls were flying out of the park in the early innings, with home runs by Alex Gordon, Billy Butler, and Terry Plouffe.  Gordon also robbed Valencia of a home run in the second inning in one of the best catches I've seen in person.  The ball settled down as the light rain settled in about the fourth inning, and the Royals ended up winning 7-6, giving the Twins the worst record in the league.

The ballpark is awesome.  It has the right mix of history and modern convenience, plus great sight lines, great views, good concessions, and unique features.

Here are some things I liked:

This is Minnie and Paul, mascots of early ballclubs in Minneapolis and St. Paul shaking hand.  A nice tribute to history and camaraderie for the new park and the Twins.

I love the design of this seating section above center field.  See?  The section is the shape of Minnesota's northern border with Canada.  Love it.

The center flagpole flying the Stars and Stripes is the original flagpole from the Met--the Twins' first ballpark in the 50s.

It's Minnesota and it's April.  The stadium has heat lamps in the seating sections.  (One of the drawbacks of sitting in the front rows.)

After the sixth, we walked around so the local hosts could show me around the park and point out other features.  It was also a local trade group's annual Twins event, so we went to the Legend's Club suites to see those folks.  It was grins and back slaps all around as my hosts saw their colleagues.  "When did you get here?" they'd ask.  "We're down in the Champion's Club," we'd say.  "Oh, with the cake-eaters," they'd mockingly reply.

"Um, it's not like you're slummin' it up here," I'd remark.  They'd smile and take another drink of free beer.

In the suite level they have nice pictures of every ballpark in the league, as well as a cool model of Target Field in a little museum about its history.

Where does this park rank, you are undoubtedly thinking?  High.  It's easy to rank the top three parks: PNC Park in Pittsburgh, Oriole Park at Camden Yards in Baltimore, and AT&T Park in San Francisco.  I'd put Target Field in the next group of parks with Petco Park in San Diego, and no other parks I can think of.  So,  I definitely rank it in the top five.

And concessions?  I got some Killebrew Root Beer.  Other than that, I had to make do with all the free popcorn, Reeces' Pieces, and flank steak salad with white balsamic vinaigrette I could eat.  And Bananas Foster. 

28.

Dancing caterpillar

I took a business trip to Moab this week, and while there took two hours to hike Negro Bill Canyon again.  This time the scenery was just as awesome.

The canyon was more crowded with adults, kids, and dogs.  It was fun watching them all cross the stream.  All of the dogs, and even a few of the kids, didn't care about falling in; they embraced it.  I saw two boys just walking down the stream.  It was a warm day, despite morning rain, and everyone loved the water and shade when they could find it.

The native wildlife, however, was magical.  As I was walking back from the arch, there was a caterpillar hanging in mid-air, dancing.  I'd seen spiders do this sort of thing before, though they're usually rappelling instead of dancing, but do caterpillars spin webs?  Pictures:

Do you see the caterpillar?  It was a sight to see, and it wasn't embarrassed at all to be caught dancing in the canyon, the way I was when it happened to me.  Wasn't even embarrassed that he was naked, the way I was.

Best salad dressing ever

I went to Carino's this week.  Carino's isn't the best Italian in the world, or close to it, but I think it beats Olive Garden most days, and I like their bread.  In this case it was close to where I was, and since it was raining that was good enough.

It's my usual habit to order whatever specialty non-alcoholic drink a restaurant has.  If they have flavored lemonades those are great.  Carino's has Italian sodas.  It's also my usual habit to let the server bring me the flavor she thinks is best, and that's where the meal took a great turn.  This waitress loved that I wanted "the best" one, so she brought me a blackberry soda with cream and vanilla.  It was fantastic.  Then she brought a lemon-lime, also with vanilla.  Also fantastic.

I ordered the baked tortellini, which came with salad.  What dressing do I want?  "The best one," says I.  Then I got nervous, since I really don't like Caesar dressing that much, but she assured me it wasn't that.  Instead, she coyly brought me some Italian dressing along with the garlic ranch.  Then she opened a bottle of balsamic vinegar at the table and told me to pour some if it in each ramekin of dressing and combine them on the salad.  It was the best salad dressing I've ever had at a restaurant. (Probably not as good as the maple balsamic I make at home.)

She went ahead and asked if I wanted my Cheese Tortellini the best way.  Of course I did!  So she brought it out not looking like this:

but instead it had the spicy Romano cheese sauce with sausage, tomatoes, and broccoli.  I loved it.  My dining companion, nameless for privacy reasons here, ordered the same thing and didn't like it as much.  But I don't think the waitress was flirting with her as much either, so my opinions might have been affected by that.

Missing in Boise

I took an impromptu visit to Boise, Idaho on Friday to meet with people about a potential business opportunity.  There aren't a lot of direct flights to Boise from Salt Lake, and the trip was last-minute, so the available flights were super expensive.  So, I drove.  I like road trips anyway, though they're more fun when I can stop and smell the diners along the way, and this trip was kind of rushed since I had meetings early on Saturday morning.

But I was excited because I'd be able to eat at Donnie Mac's Trailer Park Cuisine, a restaurant that is every bit as charming as its name, which very charming.  I went there about two years ago after seeing it highlighted on Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives, the television show I miss the most now that I don't have cable.



I mentioned to our host that I was going to stop by there on the way home.  "Didn't that close?" she asked.  "WHAT?!"  How could this place close?!  It closed.  I was totally bummed.

I had also planned to go to the temple for a session while there, and it was closed, too.

So, we ate at the Boise Stage Stop.  The food wasn't as good, but at least the waitress called me "Honey" every time I spoke to her.